Pity the poor stock manager who can't beat the benchmark -- and spare a thought for the bond managers who outperform but still can't attract the funds passive management does. At a luncheon hosted in a New York City hotel penthouse on a mildly cold December afternoon, Joe Sullivan, CEO of Allspring Global Investments, called passive investing in bonds "about the dumbest trade that you can make." Allspring had just launched three actively managed exchange-traded bond funds, but Sullivan wasn't simply talking his book.